Download the Fast Forward Start-Up Guide 2018-2019

In anticipation of the Fast Forward contest staged for the 'productronica' trade show in Munich this November, the Fast Forward Start-Up Guide is available now as a free download. At the second edition of electronica Fast Forward, the Start-Up Platform powered by Elektor, no fewer than 32 participants from 10 countries presented innovations in the Prototype and Start-up categories. If you missed that event, you can read all about it in the guide.

Sweet Dreams

Does that ever happen to you, waking up in the middle of the night with a brilliant idea that for sure is going to make you millions? That revolutionary product on which humanity has been waiting for so long? Excitement keeps you awake, and you toss around in bed for hours. In such cases the best way to get back to sleep is to write down the idea on a slip of paper. This frees up the mind and will take you back to Slumberland in no time.

Does that ever happen to you, waking up in the morning and finding a note on your bedside table with scribbled words and lots of exclamation marks? It appears to be your own handwriting, so you must have written the note yourself, but what on earth is it about? That it's gibberish is obvious, so you throw the piece of paper in the trash before going down for breakfast. A new long day with the same boring work you've been doing for years is just around the corner.

However, not everyone bins their nightly scribbles in the morning. Some people manage to decipher the doodles and start working on them. They see opportunities, maybe not as many as the night before, but enough to invest some serious effort in it. They believe in it. A prototype is built and a team is formed; a start-up is created, an exciting adventure begins. Many of those start-ups would have been better off if they had thrown that bedside note away, but some turn out to be viable and a few even rake in millions.

Fast Forward Start-Up Guide 2018-2019

The Start-Up Guide presents a number of smart folks who didn't throw away their notes in the morning but kept them and worked them out thoroughly. The results, whether prototypes or start-ups, were presented at an Elektor Start-up Competition. Whether they'll make it far, we don't know yet. What is certain though is that your idea, however sloppily noted or formulated, can take shape with some attention and elaboration and can be judged as useful, sometimes even genius, by a strict jury and a critical audience. It’s never too late to rummage your trash bin!

In short, you can find descriptions of all the innovations and advice for starters in this 124-page publication. Thanks to our sponsors Arrow, EBV Elektronik, Avnet Silica and Trinamic, the electronica Fast Forward Start-Up Guide is available as a free download.